Why Figureskating?
by reviewgirl911
Summary: Mia's brothers wonder why she wants to be a figure skater. 4-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I've always loved American Girl. I grew up loving the time once a year when my parents would take me to visit my uncle and Chicago and getting to go to the American Girl store. My parents always love to tell the story of the time we went to the American Girl store, and I had about three hundred dollars' worth of stuff I'd picked out. My dad told me, "I think that's enough,", and allegedly I looked at him, put my hands on my hips, and said, "I'm not done yet!" I then continued shopping. I never usually bought the Girl of Year doll, but Mia was the exception. This going to be just a four or five chapter stories through Mia's brothers' eyes about her being a figure-skater since I always thought their disapproval was very interesting. Hope you enjoy! Disclaimer: I don't own Mia or anything American Girl (besides a lot of dolls and books). I'm just a humble follower.**

Year: 2010

Skip, Perry, and Rick pulled into the parking of the Lucerne Skate Club. They had been sent to go get take out for dinner, but they had to pick up Mia from the rink first. To her three older brothers' dismay, Mia was more into figure skating than ever. Heck, she was home less than any of them. In fact, she was getting quite good, according to Coach Schubert, taking a high top ten spot at Regionals and going onto Nationals, ranking within the top twenty skaters in her age division.

The three of them walked into the rink that they practically lived in. It was easy to find Mia. She was still on the ice, trying to perfect a difficult looking jump. Anya was also on the ice, telling Mia what she had done each time.

Mia got up after falling on her butt yet again. "Your shoulders need to be back more," Anya instructed. Mia nodded and got up. She started skating faster and jumped. The jump was good, but the landing was shaky. Mia lost balance and fell on her back. Her brothers, sitting in the stand, immediately jumped up. Anya, worried helped her friend up.

"Mia, you okay?" Perry asked worriedly. That was one thing he didn't like about figure skating. Sure, hockey was tough, but you had pads and a helmet on as well as a team behind you. Figure skating meant you were alone and unprotected. Perry wasn't sure if he wanted that for his sister.

Mia, who was skating in slow circles, trying to regain her breath, nodded. "I just want to go one more time, and then we can go," she told her brothers. The three guys just exchanged a look. It was official. Their little sister was crazy.

Then again, maybe she wasn't. Skip knew that he and his brothers all kept playing even when they got hurt. It was simply the St. Clair way.

Mia got a little more speed this time. The jump was perfect, and the landing just right. "Yes!" she shouted, doing a little loop.

Anya smiled. "Good job," she complimented. They skated towards the door. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yep," Mia said. "Vanessa coming?"

"Yeah, her mom said she seriously needs to study. Coach Schubert flipped when she saw Vanessa's last report card." Mia nodded understandingly. Coach Schubert was a stickler about school. You had to keep up your grades if you wanted to skate.

Mia, after saying goodbye to Anya, followed her brothers out to the car. "What's for dinner?" she asked, climbing into the backseat and setting her back by her feet.

"We're picking up a pizza," Skip told her.

"Good," Mia replied happily. "I'm starving."

The radio was on faintly in the background. Rick spoke up. "That was a nasty fall," he stated.

Mia shrugged. "Not really," she said.

"Looked pretty bad to me," Perry added.

Mia glared at him. "Well, it wasn't," she insisted. "It's just part of the sport."

Skip just couldn't resist a jab here. "They made figure skating a sport?" His little sister's glare could've raised the dead. She didn't talk to any of them the rest of the car ride.

After dinner, Perry, Skip, Rick, and their dad were watching the hockey game. It was their mom's turn to clean up, and Mia was helping. In the middle of the game, there was a faint, "Ow..." from the kitchen. Skip raised an eyebrow. He went up to get something to drink and check what was going on in the kitchen.

The sight shocked him. Mia had her shirt pulled up in the back, and her back was all bruised up. His sister winced as their mom pressed an ice pack to it and instructed her to hold it there. "Shit, Mia," he muttered, staring at the bruises. "Why'd you do?"

Mia just smirked at him. "I perfected a new jump," she responded. "I've been falling on my back for the last week."

Skip was speechless. From then on, he definitely considered figuring skating a sport.


	2. Chapter 2

Year: 2012

"He's the most inconsiderate, self-centered I've ever met in my whole life!" Mia fumed, angrily cluttering her fork against her plate. Skip merely rolled his eyes. Mia had been ranting about some new guy at the rink for days. Apparently, he was from the city and thought he was better than everyone else. Skip didn't really know what the guy did to piss his little sister off this much, but he sincerely hoped the guy had shin guards.

"What's his name again?" their mom asked casually, cutting up her carrots. Of course, Mia had never said his name, but she had chosen to ignore this.

"Garrett Amsden," Mia responded, taking a sip of her water. "His dad was transferred here from some law firm. He thinks he can just walk into the rink and own the place."

"And what did he do to piss you off?" Skip asked bluntly. With Perry off at Michigan State on a hockey scholarship, Skip had become the eldest in the house, and that meant he had to ask certain questions. Since he didn't have Perry's gentler way of asking things, Skip stuck to his straightforward ways.

Mia scowled. "I was waiting for Mona at the snack bar because she had a book she wanted to give me. I was sitting up on the counter when some guy practically strutted into the rink. He came up to the snack bar and demanded, not asked, for a water. The closed sign was up so I told him we were closed. He got really angry and then threatened to go talk to my 'boss'. I did get him a bottle of water, but instead of giving it to him, I opened it and poured it all over his head. Then I smiled and told him to keep the change."

Skip and Rick cracked up laughing while their parents just looked at Mia disapprovingly. Even they, however, couldn't deny that it was funny. A St. Clair didn't just take stuff like that. They stood up for themselves.

"What did Coach Schubert do when she found it?" Rick asked curiously. Mia's figure skating was more of a hardass than his hockey coach.

"I claimed it was an accident. She believed me." Seeing her brothers' incredulous faces, she added, "Coach knew Barrett needed a bit of an ego deflating just like Vanessa did. I did have to apologize to him though."

Her father raised an eyebrow. "And how did that go?"

Mia shrugged. "I didn't kick him like I wanted to," she responded. Rick smirked. Perry would definitely want to hear about this.

As the months went by, Mia continued to rant and rave about Garrett Amsden. It soon became their meter of how good Mia's day was. If her day had been good, she barely mentioned Garrett. If her day had been, he was blamed for everything. Occasionally, when Vanessa and Anya came over, they would talk about Barrett too, but neither of them seemed to have as much hate for him as Mia. Then again, Skip supposed, Anya was too sweet to really hate anyone, and Vanessa knew where Garrett was coming from since she had once been a little like him. She had changed since then, though, and had turned Anya and Mia's twosome into a threesome. Mia and Garrett just seemed to clash. After all, he was a spoiled rich kid with everything handed to him, and Mia had to work for what she wanted.

So it was almost time for the Christmas program, and the figure skaters of the Lucerne got their routines. Mia, much to her dismay, was paired with Garrett for couples' skating. Of course, he wasn't overjoyed with it either. Everyone at the rink knew Coach Schubert had done it on purpose. Those two were constantly fighting over one thing or another. If Mia was late, Garrett made a comment. That led to Mia commenting on his over-gelled hair. It just went on and on. It was time for them to get along. Mia and Garrett were two of the most popular people in the rink, and yet they just couldn't get along with each other.

It was stories of these legendary fights that Skip used to convince Perry to pick up Mia from the Lucerne December 23. Perry, having missed his little sister and curious about these fights, agreed to go get Mia. He drove to the rink and felt an immediate wave of nostalgia. As much as he liked playing hockey at State, this would always be home to him. A few people, including Bob, immediately spotted him and waved. Perry waved back and entered the rink he knew Mia would be in quietly. She and some dark-haired boy were practicing a routine. The music was fast-paced, but Perry had no doubt his little sister could do it. In fact, the duo seemed to be in synch with music. Whatever problems they had off the easy didn't translate onto it. After Mia doing a fall where Garrett had to catch her, the music stopped. Mia took a deep breath.

"That was good," she said, skating over to where she had left her towel. Perry immediately took a step back, trying to stay out of sight. He wanted to witness one of these fights himself.

Garrett nodded. "Yeah, I think we finally got that jump down."

Mia fixed him with a hard stare. "If you drop me, I will kill you in your sleep," she threatened.

He just laughed. "Duly noted, St. Clair." For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of water being guzzled. Perry watched the two carefully. There didn't seem to be any tension between them. In fact, Barrett or whatever his name was seemed to like Mia. He narrowed his eyes.

Garrett put his water bottle down. "Hey, St. Clair, can I ask you a question?"

Mia wiped stray water off her mouth. "Depends," she said.

"On what?"

"Are you going to insult me this time?"

Garrett raised an eyebrow. "Trust me," he responded. "I've learned not to mess with you."

Mia smirked. "Then sure."

"Why become a figure skater?" Mia visibly froze and so did Perry. This question was still a source of conflict between Mia and them. None of her brothers could understand why she'd give up a sport she was so good at, and she couldn't understand why they didn't get why she needed to do something on her own. "I mean, I've heard things about you. You used to be a really good hockey player. So why become a figure skater?"

Mia looked at the rink thoughtfully for a moment. "I wanted to do something on my own," she answered. "All of my brothers play hockey, and I never feel like I'm me when I play. In hockey, I'll always by the St. Clair's little sister. In figure skating, I can just be Mia St. Clair. It sucks for people to look at you to be someone you're not, you know?"

Perry, a little shocked by Mia's answer, still listened intently as Garrett nodded. "I know what that feels like. My dad really wants me to go to law school and be a lawyer like him, but I just want to skate. I don't want to be in his shadow my whole life."

There was a moment of silence. Perry could swear he felt respect passing through the air. In that shared moment, something had shifted.

"Hey, want to race?" Garrett challenged.

Mia raised an eyebrow. "That confident, huh?"

"My uncle used to be a speed skater," Garrett replied. "Taught me a few tricks."

Mia put her hands on her hips. "I was a hockey player," she retorted. "What's winner get?"

"Ten bucks and a pack of Twizzlers from the snack shop," Garrett stated, knowing that was Mia's weakness.

Her eyes sparkled. "You're on!" she shouted.

Perry, realizing it was almost time for dinner, stepped out of the shadows. "Mia!" he shouted. "We gotta go! Mom's making dinner."

Mia turned to Garrett. "Raincheck?" she asked with a smile.

Garrett flashed her a smile of his own. "Definitely, St. Clair." Mia skated over to the door but then turned back.

"Amsden!" she called out. Garrett turned around. "My friends call me Mia," she told him.

"Garrett," he said back. Mia waved goodbye as she got off the ice. She gave Perry an enormous hug and started peppering him with questions about school. Perry, decided to ask her questions about this boy later, answered each of them and enjoyed the company of his little sister. He, however, didn't forget.


	3. Chapter 3

Year: 2014

The St. Clair family stood outside the rink waiting for Mia. Perry was holding a bouquet of flowers from the family for his little sister. It was the state competition, and Mia had placed second overall. Both he and Skip had left school for the weekend to watch. Perry knew it must've felt good for her to win something so big after all these years of figure skating. He knew it would be especially good for her to rub it in their faces.

Mia came out, her hair pulled up into a ponytail and her makeup still on her face. She was now in a warm fleece jacket and sweat pants. She smiled at the flowers in Perry's hand. "Thanks," she said as he handed them to her.

"Good job, sweetie," their mom said smiling.

"Not bad," Skip admitted with a grin. "It might turn out to be a sport after all." Mia just smacked him on the arm.

The family started to walk out, Mia being congratulated by many other skaters and some of her friends. Garrett was waiting outside for his dad. He smiled at Mia. Garrett and Mia had been good friends for the last two years. Coach Schubert normally put them together for couple's skating. They had good chemistry, she insisted.

The three brothers watched Garrett with narrowed eyes. "You were really good today, Mia," he said softly. "Congrats."

Mia blushed almost as red as her hair. "Thanks," she mumbled, clutching her flowers softly.

"See ya tomorrow," Garrett said awkwardly as his dad's car pulled up.

"Yeah, see ya," Mia echoed. She looked down at her shoes.

Skip smirked at his sister. "Cat got your tongue, Mia?" he teased.

Mia glared at him. "Shut up!" she replied, getting into the car. Skip looked over at Perry. Hm, Mia was in love! This would be interesting...

The months were getting colder and colder. The pond behind their house was completely frozen, and Mia spent most of her time not at the rink out there. Usually someone was there with her, Anya or Vanessa or even Garrett on occasion. Rick, the only brother left living at home, was wary of this. Not that he didn't trust Garrett, but Rick knew many boys had a crush on his little sister. Hell, even some of his friends had admitted to it! (Rick had almost crushed their heads in when they did, but that wasn't the point.) With both Skip and Perry away at college, Rick was the only brother home. That made Mia his responsibility.

One day in early December, Rick went out to get Mia from the pond from dinner. It was a cold day, and he was surprised she was even out there.

Of course, she wasn't alone. Garret was out there with her, which was not unusual. What was unusual was that they weren't even practicing. The two seemed to be having a race.

"Ha!" Mia shouted triumphantly, doing a lap around Garrett. "I win! You owe me a hot chocolate!" Garret, however, wasn't accepting defeat easily. He stopped, causing Mia to bump into him and both of them to lose balance. Luckily, neither fell on their head or anything. Mia ended up on bottom, Garrett on top. She raised her eyebrows.

"Enjoying the view, Amsden?" Mia asked coyly. Rick was in shock. His sister was flirting with a guy!"

"You have no idea, St. Clair," Garrett whispered. Mia blushed. Then, just then, he leaned down and kissed her. The kiss lasted a few seconds before Garrett got up and helped Mia up. Rick chose that moment to shout out, "Mia! Dinner!"

Mia turned to Garrett. "Hungry?" He smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Starving," he said. Rick just walked ahead of them to the house, a scowl on his face. Skip and Perry weren't going to like this...


	4. Chapter 4

**Quick author's note: I know technically the next Winter Olympics will take place in Feb. 2014, but for the purpose of my story I changed it to Feb. 2016. Hope that doesn't bother anyone too much! **

Year: 2016

The St. Clair family anxiously sat in their seats at Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia and watched as a beautiful Russian figure skater did a complex routine. If Perry were to admit to it, he'd say he was a little nervous for Mia. These people were amazing! Even Skip seemed impressed. Still, Perry knew his sister had worked hard to get on the U.S. Olympic team along with Anya and Vanessa. Garrett had earned a spot as well, much to Mia's delight. The couple had been dating for about two years now and were very much in love. Magazines everywhere gossiped about the two American Olympic hopefuls.

"And that was Natasha Alexei, Team Russia, everyone!" the announcer broadcasted. "And now we have Mia St. Clair representing the U.S."

As usual, the commentators started back up. "Ms. St. Clair has only been figure-skating since she was ten. Before that, she was a skilled hockey player. When asked about the switch, Ms. St. Clair simply said that she needed to see if she could do something by herself."

"Well, Brad, it doesn't seem like she made the wrong choice now!" a woman interrupted.

"Mia St. Clair is one of the most promising young skaters the U.S. has seen lately," the commentator continued. "Close to her in rank are two close friends and fellow skaters from the Lucrene, Vanessa Knowles and Anya Sorokowski."

Mia skated onto the ice, her head up and a graceful smile on her face. She was a wearing a sparkly green outfit that clung to her, making her look much more mature than 18. The music started, and Perry struggled to keep up as Mia started doing complex spins and jumps. He didn't know what they were caleld, but they did seem complex. Even the judges seemed to be impressed.

"It seems that Mia has definitely stepped up her caliber," one of the commentators speculated. "Wait, is she attempting a quadruple axel? This is a move that has never been done in competition before."

Perry couldn't hear them. His eyes were only on his sister. He knew about this move. Mia had been working on it for two years. She'd fallen on her ass countless times and even broken her arm. Coach Schubert had told her to stick to a triple axle, but Mia wouldn't listen. When Perry asked Mia why, she reluctantly told him that the move was crazy dangerous and hard to land. She could be in serious trouble if she fell wrong. He had tried to make sure she never tried this move, even recruited Anya, Vanessa, and Garrett to his case. No progress was made.

Mia skated and went for her jump. Everyone watched as she spun in the air once, twice, three, and finally four times. Breaths were held as she landed back onto the ice, smoothly gliding into the next part of her routine. The world was stunned.

Finally, the music stopped. Mia smiled and took a bow, skating off the ice.

"That was awesome!" Rick exclaimed.

"That was dangerous," Perry added. "Mia could've gotten hurt doing that."

Skip shrugged. "So is hockey, but that never stopped any of us."

Their parents, too engrossed in a conversation with Anya's parents nearby, didn't heart this exchange. If they had, they would've simply smiled.

Soon the event was over, and all of the World teams were gathered. Mia and her teammates were huddled up nervously. Perry could see his sister's hands shaking all the way from here. She was clutching Vanessa and Anya's hands tightly, her eyes closed. "Winning the bronze for the single skating competition, Natasha Alexie for Russia!" There was cheering. The beautiful girl went up and had her medal put around her neck and flowers handed to her. "Winning the silver for Team USA, Anya Sorokowski!" Mia's team went crazy, shouting and cheering for Anya. Vanessa and Mia wrapped Anya in a tight hug before letting her go get her silver medal. "Winning the gold medal for Team USA, Mia St. Clair!"

Mia looked shell-shocked. Her teams shouted and cheered while Vanessa gave he a soft push. Mia went up and got her medal, a face-splitting grin on her face the whole time. She stood next to Anya. The crowd was going next, but no one more than the Lucrene parents and coach. Skip, Perry, and Rick cheered for their sister, all forgetting the day they couldn't understand why Moa was a figureskater. Now they understood their own question, "Why figureskating?


End file.
